Newly launched Chalkdust Animation Studios in Atlanta is readying its debut project—a fantasy series targeting ages four to seven plus families. 

Boxen: The Childhood Chronicles of C.S. Lewis (pictured, 32 x 11 minutes) is based on short stories about anthropomorphic animals created by legendary author C.S Lewis and his brother W. H. Lewis when they were between the ages of eight and 15. HarperCollins published the collection posthumously in 1986 as Boxen: Childhood Chronicles Before Narnia.

Jared Mass, who was previously VP of Paramount Animation from 2014 to 2018, founded Chalkdust with the goal of producing TV shows and movies in real-time animation. His production credits include the 2022 Netflix toon Super Giant Robot Brothers and the kids & family musical Bandslam in 2009. He began his career at Walden Media in 2003, overseeing a slate of live-action family flicks such as The Chronicles of Narnia and Bridge to Terabithia.

Fledgling production/financing company Noble Road Media is fully financing the first season of Boxen. The company’s principal, Michael Carney, is attached as an EP alongside Mass and Vincent Sieber-Smith (producer and co-director of The C.S. Lewis Company).

The series will feature hybrid visuals that blend stylistic CG animation with backgrounds in a 2D-animation style. While exact plot details are not yet available, the show will be episodic with a serialized arc, featuring characters from Boxen’s 13 animal-land provinces.

Looking ahead, Chalkdust Animation is “funding the development of original animated projects that can be made in [its] Atlanta-based real-time pipeline and can be modeled inside or outside of the studio distribution system,” according to a release. The studio also has plans to continue partnering with Noble Road on future projects.